If I Didn't Have You
by Beccabo
Summary: This is my version of the Lindsay and Severide lovestory. Similar to the show but with my own little twist on it. I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi gang! I'm back…with a new obsession. Lindsay and Severide from Chicago Fire/Chicago PD. I love this couple so I decided to write my version of their lovestory. This first chapter is basically just a rewrite of how they first met, with a few changes thrown in. My plan is to follow their story from the shows pretty similarly but throw my own twist on it. I hope you enjoy!**_

**Chapter One – Blackout**

"She's back."

Lt. Kelly Severide looked up from the furnace he was tinkering with and glanced at his friend with a raised eyebrow as he asked, "Who?"

"The hot detective from Intelligence trying to save your ass from Vince Keeler."

"Yeah?" Kelly replied nonchalantly as he turned his focus back to the furnace. The power had gone out in Firehouse 51 and screwed up the furnace's backup generator system. With a house full of neighborhood residents seeking shelter from the blackout at 51, including kids and the elderly, Kelly and Matt Casey were dispatched to get the system up and running quickly. Grimacing, he growled, "Hand me that wrench."

"What was her name again?" Casey asked with a smirk, always ready to bust his buddy's balls.

"Looks like the air filter is clogged," Severide answered tightly, reaching his muscular forearm into the depths of the generator. Just when it seemed he wouldn't rise to the bait, he finally added, "Lindsay. Detective Erin Lindsay."

Detective Erin Lindsay. How could he forget. The sexy brunette detective had come barreling into Severide's life only an hour ago and he couldn't seem to stop thinking about her, her take charge attitude, and that sultry voice…

"She is way too hot for you," Casey informed him, barging into his thoughts with a wink and a knowing grin.

"Like Dawson is for you?" Kelly shot back, his focus solely on cleaning out the air filter and replacing it. When he did, the generator charged to life and the lieutenant grinned triumphantly.

The two firefighters ran back up the stairs to the firehouse's main floor and almost collided with the way too hot Detective Lindsay, who was talking to Chief Boden in the hallway at the top of the stairs.

"Hey," Kelly said lamely as he reached out to steady her after knocking her off balance, "You're back."

Casey bit back a smirk as Erin nodded with a tight smile and repeated, "I'm back. I was just telling Chief Boden that I've been hearing chatter that Vince Keeler put a hit out on you and sent someone over here to rough you up. What exactly did you say to him to piss him off?"

Severide shrugged as he answered, "I didn't really say anything…"

"Lt. Severide is a man of few words," Casey added, the amusement completely vanished from his face.

"He had a knife," Kelly explained, when Erin narrowed her eyes at him, "I took it away from him."

"And then kicked his ass and threw him out into the snow," Chief Boden finished, looking from Kelly back to Erin as he added, "The lounge was full of families. We didn't need that kind of trouble."

Erin nodded in understanding and then said wryly, "So I'm assuming you didn't realize at the time that he was a guy who enjoys killing people with his bare hands."

"No, he skipped over that part during the introductions."

If Severide didn't know any better he would have sworn that the tough as nails detective bit back a grin at his comment. But she hid it well as she took out her phone and showed them a picture of Keeler's goon and asked, "Seen him around tonight?"

The three men took a long look at the photo before Boden ordered, "Let's find him."

Erin turned to head down the nearest hallway and was surprised when Severide fell into step beside her. Glancing over at him, she asked, "Where are you going?"

Giving her another one of his nonchalant shrugs, he answered simply, "Wherever you are." And then, before she could give him the lecture about how she could take care of herself, he added with a grin, "You know, if this were a horror movie, we'd be the first ones killed, splitting off like this."

"Yeah," she seemed to agree and then added, "except we're not a couple of top-heavy coeds out looking for fun. I'm a highly trained officer of the law with enough firepower to take out a horde of the undead."

Kelly swallowed his chuckle but couldn't help grinning at her as he answered, "Gorgeous and cocky. Yeah, you definitely die first."

"Are you seriously flirting with me while we're looking for a guy who was sent here to kill you?" Erin asked, her eyes widening as she shook her head and muttered, "I will never understand guys who to run into burning buildings."

"You chase murderers," he shot back sarcastically.

"Not if they're on fire."

God, he liked this woman, Severide thought as they rounded the corner just in time to see Casey call out and lunge at a hooded figure. The two wrestled to the ground as the guy in the hood pulled out a wrench and was ready to strike Casey with it. Before Severide could move to jump in, Erin stepped in front of him with her gun drawn and called out, "Chicago PD! Drop it!"

The guy from Lindsay's photo looked up at her in surprise while Severide helplessly watched the scene play out from behind. He didn't do helpless but if he moved, something could go wrong. He wouldn't risk Casey's life, so he resigned himself to letting the hottie with the gun handle it.

"Put down the wrench," Erin repeated, her hands steady as she pointed her weapon at the thug's head, "or I swear I will put you on the floor."

His attacker's momentary hesitation gave Casey enough leverage to move away from the line of fire, but Keeler's goon wasn't giving up that easily. He reached out and lunged for Detective Lindsay, taking away her clean shot. The thug got in one good swing of his wrench before she outmaneuvered him and had him up against the wall before anyone knew what was happening.

"I said drop the wrench," Erin hissed menacingly into the hooded man's ear and this time he did what he was told. The wrench clattered to the ground as the detective grabbed his wrists and twisted them behind his back before handing him off to Officer Atwater, who had suddenly arrived on the scene. Glaring at the idiot who had dared pick a fight with Detective Erin Lindsay, she barked, "Take him down to the district. I'll be right behind you."

She turned to where Severide had kneeled next to Casey and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Thanks to you," Casey answered slowly, nodding his thanks up to her.

"You're bleeding," Kelly stated, suddenly standing up next to her. Erin's hand immediately flew to her face and she suddenly realized her jaw hurt like hell.

"Son of a bitch," Erin replied, her fingers settling over the spot where the wrench had torn her lip in two. "Lucky for me, his aim sucked."

"Stop," Kelly commanded, moving her smaller fingers away with his own and guiding her to a nearby bench, "Don't touch it. Let me see."

"I'm fine," she replied stubbornly, but didn't move away as he gently wiped away the blood with a clean cloth. The cloth was medicated with some kind of antiseptic and Erin hissed at the sting as she looked up to see that some more members of Firehouse 51 had joined them in the hallway.

Kelly's eyes zeroed in on her and then he teased quietly, "You took a wrench to the face but a little antiseptic makes you wince?" Erin could only glare at him because he quickly replaced the medicated cloth with a clean one and applied some pressure to her lip as he continued, "It's red, your blood. I was sure it was blue."

Erin grimaced at his bad joke, which caused her face to hurt even more, as she shot back, "I've been taking my vitamins."

Kelly grinned at her and said, "Well, vitamins or not, you may need some stitches. You should let one of our paramedics check you out."

"I'll be fine," she repeated but jumped slightly as his gentle fingers swept over her jawline. But it wasn't from pain…no, this jolt of electricity had nothing to do with the wrench that had come in contact with her jaw and everything to do with the sexy firefighter who was carefully examining her face.

When her hazel eyes connected with his baby blues, Erin knew he felt it too. Kelly's breath was warm on her skin as he whispered huskily, "This is going to bruise. We should get some ice for..."

"Here, put this on it."

An ice pack was suddenly shoved between them, breaking the moment. Erin looked up to see a pretty blond smiling down at her as she handed her a blue ice pack. Disentangling herself from Severide and standing up, Erin practically moaned in relief when the cool ice hit her aching and suddenly overheated face. Smiling as much as she could at the paramedic, she said, "I have to get back to the station. Mind if I take this and bring it back later?"

"No problem," Shay replied, looking back and forth between Severide and the pretty detective. With a smirk, she added, "You know where to find us."

Feeling a little silly to have an ice pack plastered to her face, Erin turned to Kelly and said, "Officer Burgess here is going to take your statements, but it wouldn't hurt for you to come down to the district when you get off shift so we can set up some kind of protection for you. Vince Keeler isn't going to like what happened here tonight."

Kelly nodded as Erin spoke quietly to Burgess and then headed off down the hall. He suddenly felt an elbow in his gut and looked over to see Shay grinning at him.

"What?"

"Damn, that was hot!"

Kelly shook his head at his friend and teased, "A girl with a gun? That's what turns you on?"

Shaking her head and patting him on the shoulder, Shay teased, "Not me, buddy. Not me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Flirting**

_Two days later…_

Frozen pellets of sleet carried by the icy February winds stung Erin's face as she tried to keep her head down to guard herself from the elements. The late snowstorm wasn't uncommon…welcome to Chicago. With one gloved hand, Erin held her coat closed at her throat as she hurried across the street toward the bar. She was late. Again. Which meant she was going to get stuck with the tab. Again.

The guys in Intelligence were lucky she loved them like family.

The whole week had been crazy and chaotic and frustrating. Between keeping tabs on Vince Keeler, hunting down rounds of "cop killer" ammo that somehow found it's way onto the streets, Ruzek's first on-duty shooting, and the friction between Voight and his son, Justin, the entire team really needed this night out.

Pulling open the front door to Molly's, Erin had to smile as the warmth hit her frozen face. She loved the place…from the twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling to the Chicago sports memorabilia decorating every wall. One of the owners was her teammate Antonio Dawson's sister, so the Intelligence crew liked to hang out there on those rare nights when they could all get together. It took a moment for her eyes to focus as she scanned the crowd for her teammates, who had successfully managed to find a table towards the back.

"Lindsay!" Officer Adam Ruzek called out as she approached the table, "You're just in time to buy the next round!"

Shrugging off her coat and hanging it on the back of the only empty seat at the table, Erin snarked, "And exactly how many rounds have you had so far?"

"Two," Antonio informed her, holding up the empty pitcher sitting on their table. "You're late."

"Someone," the brunette informed them snidely as she glared accusingly over at her partner, Detective Jay Halstead, "left me with more than half of the paperwork to finish up."

"You're a better speller than I am," Jay explained with a casual shrug as she slid into the seat next to him. Grinning at her, he added, "Don't get too comfy, Linds. We're thirsty."

"Seriously?" she asked with a frown, "I have to do your paperwork and buy your drinks?"

"You said you wanted to be treated like one of the guys," her partner explained as he looked around the table, "and this is how I would treat any of these guys if they were late."

"I was late because I was finishing up your paper-…" Erin began, but then decided that it would just be easier to buy the damn drinks. Grabbing the pitcher from Antonio, she muttered, "You know what, never mind. I can see I'm outnumbered. Where is Burgess when you need her for a little backup?"

"Flirting with that fireman over there," Adam replied, a little too quickly, as he pointed toward a nearby table where Officer Kim Burgess was indeed laughing a little too animatedly with an extremely hot firefighter. Erin remembered him from the night of the blackout…Mills, maybe? She really only remembered one firefighter from that night.

Hoping to find Antonio's sister, Gabby, behind the bar, Erin made her way through the crowd and set the empty pitcher on the polished wood surface. Smiling at the bartender (another firefighter?), she asked for a refill and another mug and then settled in to wait.

That's when she saw him.

At the other end of the bar, smirking at her in that sexy way of his, was Kelly Severide. He was talking to the blond paramedic who had given Erin the icepack and some cute brunette. Fangirls, she assumed. Everyone knew all about those firefighter groupies. Smiling for what felt like the first time in days, she shook her head at him and then turned her attention back toward the various patrons milling around the bar. It wasn't too crowded, but there were enough people around to make it hard to hear someone unless they were standing right next to you.

"Buy you a drink? I have an in with the owners."

A sexy voice in her ear startled Erin and warm breath sent chills down her spine. She recognized both the voice and the chills. Turning around to find Kelly standing beside her, Erin smiled and informed him, "Actually, the drinks are on me tonight. Because I was late." When he looked confused, she explained, "It's a team tradition. Last one in buys the next round."

He nodded in understanding as he looked over to where her team was watching them closely from their table and then asked, "Team night out?"

"We need it," Erin replied with a sigh, "It's been a hell of a week."

"Tell me about it."

Narrowing her eyes and reverting to cop mode, she quickly asked, "Have you heard from Keeler?"

"Down girl," Kelly replied with a laugh, "I just meant that we've all been busy."

"Why did you refuse your security detail?"

He shrugged and answered, "Don't need one. I took care of him twice already by myself. I don't need a babysitter." And then the signature smirk returned to his face as he teased, "Unless you're volunteering for the job."

"You _humiliated_ him twice," Erin retorted, ignoring the last part of his statement, "And trust me, Vince Keeler is not a guy who is going to forget that. The fact that he hasn't made a move yet is not a good sign. I'm going to assign squad to do extra patrols around your neighborhood and the firehouse just in case he's stupid enough to come back."

"Worried about me, Lindsay?" Kelly asked slyly, nodding to the bartender when he returned with Erin's order.

"I can pay for that," she told him quickly, again ignoring his question.

"I got it," the sexy fireman replied, turning to her to study her face before he added, "Looks good." When it was her turn to look confused, Kelly gently touched her jaw and lowered his voice as he said, "Your face. It didn't bruise too badly."

The electric jolts from the other night returned the moment his calloused fingers fluttered across her skin. Trying to keep it together, Erin smiled and said, "Make up. Works wonders."

Did her voice sound as breathy to him as it did to her own ears? Get it together, Lindsay!

Moving in closer and locking eyes with her, he continued, "Shay is going to need that ice pack back. Maybe I could come over tonight and get it for her…"

"Shay?" Erin interrupted, pulling back and breaking free from his sexy gaze, "Is that her name?"

"Her name wasn't really the point…"

"When you flirt with me, are you doing it to piss off _Shay_?" the detective asked suddenly, realizing the question had come out sharper than she had meant it. She was flustered. Simply being near Kelly Severide knocked her off her game and she wasn't used to that. Erin liked being the one in control.

Glancing across the bar at his roommate, Kelly chuckled and simply answered, "No." When Erin raised her eyebrows at him, he added, "Shay is a lesbian."

Well that wasn't what she was expecting to hear. Nodding in response as she tried to collect her thoughts, Erin then asked, "And the brunette?"

"My sister, Katie."

And now she felt like an idiot. Which may be the reason she stammered, "Well, that makes me feel a little better."

Picking up on her statement immediately, Kelly's handsome face broke out into a full smile as he asked, "And why is that?"

Realizing that she was only digging herself a deeper whole, Erin picked up her pitcher and cold mug and readied herself to bolt as she said, "I have to go. The guys are waiting for…this. Me. Thanks for the beer. I owe you one."

As she was walking away, Erin was sure she heard him laughing at her. And why not. She had acted like a complete idiot. This was not who she was…Erin Lindsay didn't get flustered and go weak in the knees when a sexy guy touched her face. Being the only female detective in Intelligence with tough-as-nails notoriety certainly complicated her dating life, but what was Kelly Severide doing to her?

"Severide?" Antonio asked as she returned to the table with their drinks. "Really? You're going there?"

"Going where?" Erin asked innocently as she grabbed the pitcher so she could pour herself a beer. "We were just talking."

"And touching," Jay grouched, reaching over to take the pitcher from her, "Must be what took you so long."

"Keeler went after me with a wrench in the firehouse," Erin reminded them before she took a sip of her beer, "He was just checking to see if I was ok." When Antonio gave her a look, she added, "His friend is a paramedic."

"My sister is a paramedic," Antonio said with a grin, "and I didn't feel the need to touch your face that way."

"That's because you are a happily married man," Adam informed them, finally tearing his gaze away from where Burgess was still flirting with Firefighter Mills.

"Just like you are a happily engaged man," Erin gently reminded him, hoping to direct the conversation away from her and Severide.

"Yes, I am," Adam agreed, raising his beer in a sloppy toast leaving Erin to wonder exactly how many rounds he had consumed before even stepping foot in Molly's. His first on-duty shooting had resulted in a death and it was no secret that he wasn't following his post-shooting protocol in the way that he should. But in Voight's unit, the bigger sin would be allowing whatever was going on with Burgess get out of hand. When he was sober, she would give him a gentle reminder.

"He has a rep for being a ladies' man," Antonio told her, directing Erin's attention back to him. Apparently she wasn't very good at steering the conversation away from her and Severide. "Just be careful."

But Erin's response was interrupted when Burgess came back to the table and slid in to share a seat with Erin. As she reached out to pour a beer for her friend, the detective teased, "Strike out with the hot firefighter?"

Jay and Adam simply grunted as Kim shook her head and sighed, "No, they're actually on call tonight. And wouldn't you know it…they got called out for a rescue."

"Better not have been drinking," Jay muttered and as Kim defended the members of the squad by explaining that none of them were allowed to drink when they were on call, Erin's eyes searched out Kelly.

The playful, nonchalant attitude and ever present smirk were gone and there was intensity radiating off of him in waves as the ever dedicated lieutenant gathered the members of his team and headed toward the door. And before she knew what she was doing, Erin was up out of her seat and headed in his direction.

"Kelly!"

Severide turned in surprise when he heard Erin call out and looked at her in concern. When she reached him, he asked, "What's up?"

Suddenly feeling foolish for her knee jerk reaction, she stopped in front of him and simply said, "Just be careful, okay?"

The intensity momentarily left his face and he broke out into a smile as he repeated his question from earlier in the night, "Worried about me, Lindsay?"

Returning his smile, she teased, "No."

"Good," he shot back before disappearing out into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the first 2 chapters! I can't wait another month for our shows to come back! _ **

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**Chapter 3 – Late**

_A few hours later…_

Erin threw the television remote control down on her couch and rubbed her eyes. She had been staring at the oversized screen for what seemed like hours. Her eyes were tired, her body ached, and she had been up for almost 18 hours now. She should go to bed…6 a.m. would come quickly and Voight didn't tolerate any excuses. But her mind wasn't as tired as her body so any attempts at sleep would be futile.

Sleep. It was not something she had much experience with lately but something she was in desperate need of.

Breathing out heavily, the detective pushed herself up from the couch and began trying to work the kinks out of her neck and shoulders as she walked to the kitchen. Pulling a beer out of the refrigerator, she leaned back against the counter and rubbed the back of her neck. Feeling her eyelids droop, Erin quickly took a long swig of her beer and ignored the nagging voice in the back of her brain as the cool liquid trickled down her throat. She had had two beers at Molly's and really didn't need a third, but she something had to settle her nerves.

He was a professional firefighter, for crying out loud. The best at what he did. Highly trained and supremely confident with an excellent track record to back him up. She had no reason to worry about him.

And yet, here she was pacing around her apartment like a nervous ninny. Erin wasn't exactly sure when Kelly Severide had gotten into her head, but he was definitely there. And now he was affecting her sleep. Damn him.

Taking her beer, Erin wandered back into the living room and flopped down on the couch. She knew from her scanner that the rescue squad had been called to the scene of a multi car accident on the north side of their district and it was bad. Cars bursting into flames and passengers trapped inside bad. She listened for as long as she could before turning it off. But for the past hour, Erin had been scanning the news for any kind of information she could find.

He wouldn't want to talk about it…not with her. What they had was a flirtation, an attraction. They weren't even friends really. But for some reason it didn't stop her from worrying about him…

The pounding on her apartment door startled Erin so completely that she almost spilled her beer all over her shirt. Her droopy eyes flew open and she stared at the door as if it were something out of a horror movie.

"Jesus, Justin," Erin muttered, putting down the beer and hurrying down the hall to the door, "somebody better not be dead."

Voight's son, recently released from prison, had a nasty habit of coming to Erin whenever he found himself in some sort of trouble. And trouble seemed to be finding him quite often lately. Erin flung the door open, ready to face whatever problem Justin was going to drop on her doorstep, and then stopped cold in her tracks.

"Kelly…"

He was standing in the dimly lit hallway, looking almost as unsure of himself as she had felt earlier at the bar. He looked tired and frazzled and there was a smudge of dirt on his left cheek that Erin desperately wanted to wipe away with her fingertips.

"I know it's late," he stated softly, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket, "but…"

His voice trailed off and Erin instantly knew he didn't know how to ask for what he wanted. What he needed. She recognized it in him because it was a also one of her least admirable traits.

"You're fine," she told him just as softly, laying a hand on his arm, "Do you want to come in?"

Kelly nodded abruptly and moved past her into the small apartment, his eyes instinctively doing a sweep of the place. Deciding it met with his approval, he turned to look at her. That's when she realized that it wasn't that he looked tired…haunted was a better word for it. Whatever he'd seen at the accident site was going to stay with him for a long time. Until a better memory replaced it. And he had come to her. Erin knew she had to tread carefully…

Taking a few steps closer to him, she decided to open with a joke and teased, "If you came for the ice pack, you're out of luck. I took it to the station with the intention of returning it and left it there."

Remembering their conversation from earlier in the evening, his face slowly broke out into a smile. A real smile. He had a wicked smile. Of course she'd noticed his good looks, but the smile turned his whole face into sin incarnate.

_Down girl_, Erin reminded herself silently. Out loud, she changed course and asked softly, "Rough night?"

"You could say that," he answered absently, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other. But he didn't offer any further information, so they simply stood there and looked at each other silently.

Finally, Erin asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Erin licked her lips, and his eyes darkened, his stare fixed on her mouth. She stuttered for a second, then swallowed and took a deep breath before she offered, "Do you want a beer?"

"No," he answered again.

Taking two steps, he crossed the small living room, effectively closing the distance between them in what felt like a millisecond. He was standing in front of her, his broad, wide chest even with her hungry eyes. His scent, a combination of soap and earthiness, surrounded her and caused a fluttering in Erin's belly. She lifted her chin as her eyes scanned up to meet his and whispered, "Do you want…?"

But she never finished the question. Her voice trailed off as he cupped her jaw, then lowered his head until their lips nearly met. Not hesitant, not uncertain. The opposite, in fact. There was a beat of stillness, during which his gaze held hers prisoner while her body came alive and her eyes drifted shut. Their mouths brushed lightly, then not so lightly, and when his tongue touched hers, she moaned. At the sound, Kelly threaded his hands in her hair and deepened the kiss.

Erin melted into him. There was no other word for what happened. One minute her bones were there and then in the next they were gone. His firm lips didn't leave any question of who was in control and he tore the air from her lungs as he consumed her. She felt the roughened pads of his fingertips graze the side of her neck as his large hand wrapped firmly at the base of her scalp, tilting her head even further up, giving his mouth complete and total access to hers. A soft whimper of need escaped her lips and his tongue swept inside, meeting hers in a sensual caress.

His hand possessively gripped her hip as his other continued to hold her head in place, exactly where he wanted it. Her hands moved down his shoulders and she felt his muscles ripple beneath her touch, sending a tremor down her spine. He gripped her tighter and leaned into her, pushing forward until the wall met her shoulders as Erin clung to his neck for dear life. He tasted fantastic. Clean and fresh, the hint of mint on his tongue, but beyond that, nothing but heat and passion. Kelly's dominance created a fierce desire that quickly spread through her body, consuming her like a wild fire. She was so used to being the one in control. But with Kelly Severide, there was no control to be had.

A sudden need for oxygen caused Erin to finally rip her lips away from Kelly's and he lowered his forehead until it rested on hers. They stood there in complete silence for what felt like an eternity until he finally drew back and cupped her chin in his hand, supporting her without locking her in place. Without tearing his gaze away from hers, he whispered, "When I flirt with you, I'm doing it because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since we met. I don't play games."

"Good to know," she whispered back, realizing that he was answering the question she had posed to him back at the bar. With everything he had been through this evening, that's what he was thinking about. This was insane. They'd both gone insane.

"I should go," Kelly said, drawing in another ragged breath.

"And I have to work so early in the morning," she answered and yet neither of them moved. He still had her caged against the wall and the coarse hair on his arm tickled her as he moved past her wrist, his body tight to hers.

He shook his head and ran a finger along her temple and down her jaw. A little startled by the power of his touch, she covered his hand with hers and held it in place against her. Something flashed in his eyes, an aching hunger that held her captive. Because it matched hers. She was shocked at the strength of it, at how difficult it suddenly was to breathe. His mouth skimmed her jaw, then her throat, his teeth grazing her skin as he pressed her tighter up against the wall.

Biting back a moan, Erin whispered, "Kelly, what are we doing?"

In answer, he brought his head up and kissed her. Deep, hungry, tasting her in a purposely slow, thorough manner before pulling back to once again look into her eyes.

"I have no freakin' clue," he finally answered as the warmth of his breath brushed her cheek, sending a shiver trickling over her skin.

Erin let out a low laugh and then surprised herself by saying, "Maybe we should do it some more."

He obliged, pulling her in for another kiss, which grew rougher and more demanding, until she was vibrating with need, making little whimpers in her throat for more. When he stepped back, eyes black as the night, she staggered for balance. "What?" Erin managed to ask, "Why did you stop?"

"Your phone's going off."

Right. _That_ was what was vibrating. Touching her still tingling lips, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and read the incoming text. Swearing under her breath, Erin closed her eyes and muttered, "Damn it, Justin."


	4. Chapter 4 - Katie

_**Hello everyone! Thank you for the PM's about writing another chapter for this fic! It took a little while to write this chapter only because it is a sensitive subject and I wanted to handle it correctly. I finally cut a lot out just because I didn't like the way it came out, so it's a little short. But it is needed to move the story along so I hope you enjoy anyway…**_

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**Chapter Four – Katie**

_District 21 Police Station, a few days later..._

"Perfect timing, Detective Lindsay."

Erin had to try extremely hard not to roll her eyes at Sergeant Trudy Platt as she took the front steps of District 21's stationhouse two at a time. It was only 2:00 in the afternoon and she had already crammed 12 hours worth of crap into the first 5 hours of her shift. Justin, Voight's son, had shown up with blood on his hands the other night and things had only gotten worse since then. Voight was on edge, he and Antonio were at each other's throats, and her partner, Halstead, was giving her the silent treatment for some ungodly reason. The last thing she wanted to deal with was Sgt. Platt.

But, pasting a smile on her face, Erin walked over to the desk and asked, "What's up?"

"Phone call," Platt replied, not looking up from whatever she was writing, "Some nurse at Chicago Medical is holding for you on line 2. Liv or something…"

"Viv?" Erin asked, reaching across the desk for the telephone and ignoring the look Platt gave her for intruding on her territory. Vivienne Castillo was an old friend of Erin's but she rarely called her at work. Into the receiver, she stated, "This is Detective Lindsay."

"Hello Detective Lindsay," came a cheerful voice on the other end of the line, "this is Nurse Castillo. What's up, girl?"

"Living life, you know," Erin replied, a genuine smile coming to her lips for the first time in hours, "What's going on with you?"

"Same old, same old…you know me," Vivienne said in a sweet voice and then turned somber as she continued, "As much as I miss your face, this isn't a social call. I have a rape victim here and she won't talk to anyone but you."

"Who is it?"

"She won't say," Viv replied, "but someone roughed her up pretty good. She's young…"

"How young?"

"Not a kid," the nurse answered quickly, reading Lindsay's mind, "maybe in her early 20's. Brunette."

"She asked for me by name?" Erin asked, wondering who on earth Viv might be talking about.

"Yep."

"Did you do a rape kit?"

"Sweetie, she won't talk to anyone but you," Viv repeated, trying to remain calm, "but I've been doing this long enough to know a rape survivor when I see one."

Knowing that to be the truth, Erin sighed, "I'll be right there." Hanging up the phone, she nodded to Platt and asked, "Would you tell Halstead that I have to run out for a little while?"

The desk sergeant nodded and asked quietly, "Everything okay?"

"Definitely not," the detective replied sharply before heading back out into the cold Chicago afternoon.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

_Chicago Medical Center, 15 minutes later…_

The young brunette woman was seated in the drab examination room trying to gather some warmth from the thin gown and sheet the nurses had given her. She looked cold, alone, frightened…and familiar. But for the life of her, Erin couldn't figure out how she knew this girl. She wasn't a street girl or a CI. But she knew she had seen her before.

Sliding quietly into the room, Erin smiled at the young woman and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Detective Erin Lindsay…"

"I know," the girl whispered, not lifting her head to look at Erin, "I'm Katie Severide. Kelly's sister."

Recognition hit Erin like a freight train. She had seen her at Molly's the other night talking to her brother. But with the blackened eye, bruised jawline, bloodied lip and nose, Erin never would have recognized Katie if she hadn't introduced herself.

"Do you want me to call Kelly…?"

"NO!"

Katie finally looked up, the panic in her eyes evident but there was also a steely determination there as well. She shook her head and explained, "You can't tell him…not yet."

"Katie," Erin said gently, "he's going to find out."

"I know," she answered, a tear splashing down onto her bruised cheek, "but not yet."

Erin watched as she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her thin arms around them for comfort. And in that moment the detective realized that her loyalty wasn't to Kelly at this moment, it was to his sister. She would deal with the ramifications of that later.

"Okay," Erin said quietly, her voice still gentle but with a slightly authoritative tone, "It's just you and me, Katie." When Katie shivered, Erin immediately put a warm blanket around her shoulders and wrapped an arm around the young woman. Giving her a squeeze, she soothed, "You can trust me, Katie. I promise."

"I know," Katie responded, her voice just above a whisper as she leaned into Erin's warmth, "Kelly trusts you and that's why I had them call you."

Erin lingered for a moment as Katie collected herself and then asked, "Can I get you anything?"

Katie shook her head and blinked back her tears as she whispered, "Just don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Erin reassured her and nodding to Vivienne, who was standing just outside the door with an assortment of swabs and a plastic tray. As Viv moved into the room, the detective said, "Katie, this is my friend Vivienne. She is the best nurse I know and I trust her with my life. I need you to trust her, too…okay?" Erin waited for Katie to nod and then said, "Thank you, Katie. I know this is going to be awkward and uncomfortable for you, but it will help us catch whoever did this to you."

"I know who did this to me," Katie replied, looking up at the two women with clear eyes, "His name was Vince Keeler. And he said to say hello to my brother."_  
_


	5. Chapter 5 - Comfort

_**Since I made you wait so long for the last chapter, I decided to post this one quickly. I hope you enjoy! Please take time to review if you have a second so I know if I am on the right track with this story! Thanks!**_

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**Chapter Five – Comfort**

_Chicago Medical Center, an hour later…_

"She's tough, that one."

Erin looked up from her phone to see her friend Vivienne coming down the hall toward her with a wary smile on her face. Slumping down in the hard, plastic chair next to her and pressing a bottle of water into Erin's hands, the pretty nurse continued, "A lot of victims cower at the sight of the swabs or clench up during the exam. I've even had to sedate a few. But Miss Katie was a rock…steadier than most."

"It's in her blood," Erin replied, nodding toward the room where Kelly and his father were comforting Katie and getting ready to take her home, "She comes from the kind of people who run into burning buildings while everyone else is running out."

"That explains a lot," Viv answered quietly.

"I never understood that," the detective mused, leaning back in her uncomfortable chair, "the desire to run into burning buildings."

"You chase murderers, drug dealers, and gang bangers with oozies," her friend reminded her with a snort.

"Not if they're on fire!" Erin shot back before she took a sip of her water, causing them both to chuckle at the absurdity of the situation.

Looking back at the closed door of Katie's room, Vivienne stated quietly, "This seems personal for you. Why did she ask for you?"

Erin hesitated only a moment before she explained, "I know her brother."

The nurse's jaw almost hit the floor as she confirmed, "Hunk a hunk of burning love, in there?" It was Erin's turn to snort at that point as Viv grabbed the water bottle out of her hands before asking, "And just how well do you _know_ him?"

"We're friends…sort of."

"Sort of?"

Erin let out a huge sigh and admitted, "It's complicated."

"With guys who look like him, it usually is," Vivienne mused and then, with a twinkle in her eye, asked, "How complicated?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Erin scolded playfully and then clarified, "Just one kiss complicated. One amazing kiss. One of those 'one minute we were talking and the next minute we were all over each other' kind of kisses."

"I love those kind of kisses," Viv sighed, leaning over and resting her head on Erin's shoulder, "That is so hot. He is so hot…"

"This is so not the time and place for this conversation," the detective interrupted sternly, sitting up a little straighter and hoping her friend would get the hint.

She didn't.

"Baby, with the work we do there is _never_ a good time and place for this conversation," Vivienne corrected her, turning to look directly into Erin's eyes, "I spend most of my waking hours fixing people up and trying to put them back together again. You spend yours chasing after the monsters who break them. If we don't take a step back every once in awhile and enjoy a good girlfriend gab session, we'll lose our freakin' minds. We don't have the luxury of sleepovers and pigging out on pizza and tubs of ice cream…in our line of work, we take our gossip whenever and wherever we can fit it in."

With a sigh, Erin admitted, "That is really depressing. Because I could really use a night pigging out on Ben and Jerry's."

"Look on the bright side," Viv remarked with a grin, taking another sip of water, "at least you're getting kissed by a hunky firemen. That beats Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough any day."

"Says the woman who is happily married to one of the best guys I know," Erin chuckled, slapping Vivienne on the thigh, "If you don't appreciate my friend Anton, I might just have to steal him away from you."

"I love my Anton as much now as the day I first laid eyes on him," Viv assured her, "but even he will admit that he ain't never going to look like your hero firefighter. So I guess I will just have to live vicariously through you, baby girl."

As if he knew they were talking about him, the door to Katie's hospital room opened and Kelly stepped out into the hallway. His bright eyes were vacant and he seemed to look through the two women instead of at them as they stood to greet him. Squeezing Viv's hand, Erin whispered, "Well then you'd better buckle up for a long and bumpy ride, my friend. Because I have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better."

Viv smiled a reassuring smile at her old friend and then took her cue to exit. Erin watched her walk away for a moment, at a loss of what to do next. But as soon as she turned backed to Kelly, instinct took over. She reached out for him and he immediately stepped into her embrace. Erin's arms wrapped tightly around Kelly and he pressed his head into her shoulder as the warmth of her body encircled him. He had been to Hell and back in the last hour. Security, comfort…that's what he needed from her and the detective was more than willing to provide it.

When he finally stepped back from her embrace, Kelly drew in a ragged breath and uttered the inevitable words Erin had sensed were coming from the moment he stormed into the hospital ER. But it broke her heart to hear them anyway.

"It's my fault."

Shaking her head, Erin whispered, "Don't…"

"Otis and I let her walk home alone last night," he continued, as if he hadn't even heard her protest, "I knew Keeler was out there all pissed off and looking for revenge. We should have done a better job of watching over her."

"You didn't know he would take it out on her, like this," Erin told him, placing her hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look her in the eyes, "This is not your fault. This is on Keeler. Your sister needs you now, so you do not get to break down. Do you hear me?" Her hazel eyes met his blue ones as she searched for some sign that he understood what she was telling him. Not finding one, Erin repeated, "You do not get to fall apart, Severide. You hold it together for Katie, okay?"

It felt like an eternity, but he finally nodded and then asked, "Did you see her face?"

Erin let out a breath and admitted, "Yeah."

"That son of a bitch gave her a black eye, broke her nose, and split her lip," Kelly bit out, anger now replacing the vacant look in his eyes from moments ago. "Not to mention…"

He couldn't finish the thought. And Erin wasn't going to make him.

Caressing his face lightly with her fingers, she whispered, "The bruises will heal, Kelly, but Katie is going to have some deep emotional scars that will be with her for a long time. She's going to need you now…in ways that she may not even realize. You and Otis and your dad are going to have to remind her that men like Vince Keeler are the exception and not the rule."

Kelly nodded again and then growled, "Keeler…"

"I know," Erin answered, "Voight and Antonio are already on it. They're going to find him and then we're going to put him away for a very long time."

"I want to talk to Voight."

The detective could feel the rage bubbling up inside of him so quickly that is almost scared her. And Erin Lindsay didn't scare easily. Shaking her head, she instructed, "Your focus needs to be on Katie now…let us handle Keeler."

Kelly stared at her for a long time and his expression was unreadable. Finally, he stepped away and said icily, "You find him, Erin. Or I will."


	6. Chapter 6 - Strength

_**Thanks everyone for the reviews! I hope you are not disappointed with this chapter since it has limited Linseride interaction. But I thought an important part of their relationship should be Erin's relationship with Katie. So we have some female bonding here and then some Linseride fireworks in the next chapter. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! You guys are the best!**_

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**Chapter Six – Strength**

_Intelligence Division of District 21's Station House, the next day…_

"I need a search warrant for Vince Keeler's car, restaurant, his house..."

Detective Antonio Dawson looked up from the paperwork on his desk and asked, "Yeah, based on...?"

"I don't like the bastard?" Erin muttered, picking up her desk phone and punching in some numbers.

"Lindsay, you know I love you like the annoyingly pushy, emotionally stunted kid sister that you are, but we are going to need some probable cause to re-arrest him," Antonio reminded her and then added quietly, "And it's probably not going to be for rape. We'll have to get him on something else."

The past 24 hours had proven how completely functional and dysfunctional the judicial system could be. The Intelligence team had tracked down and arrested Vince Keeler for the rape of Katie Severide but the son of a bitch was back out on the streets by morning. Even Voight had been blindsided by the fact that Keeler was walking around as a free man so soon after the arrest.

"I just heard that Vince Keeler was released this morning…"

Erin looked up to see Kelly and Katie Severide coming up the stairs to the 2nd floor Intelligence offices.

"How the hell did they get up here?" Adam Ruzek asked, getting up from his desk before seeing Antonio vehemently shaking his head. He slowly sat back down and cast a confused look at Erin as she made her way over to the Severide siblings.

"Hey," she said quietly as she approached with a smile, "how did you get up here?"

"Sgt. Platt has a crush," Katie said, rolling her eyes as she pointed at her brother.

Kelly was not feeling so playful so he repeated his opening statement, "Word on the street is that Keeler is walking around free as a bird." He narrowed his baby blues at the detective and added accusatorily, "You said your squad was handling this."

"We did handle it." Halstead said from somewhere behind Lindsay's left shoulder. "He made a deal…"

"A deal?" Kelly interrupted, stepping toward Halstead's desk, "You made a deal with that monster?"

"He made a deal with the DA's office," Erin cut in, trying to placate Kelly with her even tone, "Apparently he had some information on a rival drug organization and bought himself a 'get out of jail free' card. It was done without our knowledge."

"So now what?" Katie asked softly, seeming to almost hide behind her brother.

Erin turned all of her attention to the pretty young woman who looked scared out of her mind and gently informed her, "My boss, Sgt. Voight, is in with the department brass trying to figure out what is going on. Until then, we are working another angle."

"What angle?"

"We're still figuring that out," Erin admitted sheepishly, not looking over at Kelly as she answered his question. "But we will get him, Katie. I promise."

"That's what you said last time."

Erin was about to answer when Antonio jumped in and answered, "We did get him, Kelly. Someone else let him go. This is not our fault. Erin has been here since dawn trying to find something else to charge him with." Softening as he looked at Katie, he added, "We're going to bring this slime bag to justice, ok? We're just going to have to get a little creative."

Kelly seemed to be appeased by that but his sister shook her head and whispered, "No. I'm not doing this anymore. I want to drop the charges…"

"What?" her brother asked, turning to look at her as she did everything in her power to avoid his searching gaze.

Antonio was at their side in a second as he said, "Let's be clear about something, Katie. We have a case. Erin was at the hospital and saw what he did to you. We have the DNA from the rape kit and your fingerprints in his van. We have your eyewitness account. There is no reason to drop these charges, okay? You don't have to unring this bell."

Shaking her head, Katie's eyes filled with tears as she told him, "You cannot force me to testify."

"No, we can't," Antonio agreed, "but like I said, we have other evidence…"

"Katie," Erin interrupted, gently nudging Antonio to the side, "we will be with you every step of the way. You don't have to be afraid."

Tears splashed onto the young woman's face as she vehemently shook her head again, "I'm not strong, like you. I don't know how to do it."

The detective's heart broke as she put her arms on Katie's trembling shoulders and whispered, "You are strong, Katie. You survived. And what you endured will make you even stronger."

"I can't…"

She couldn't finish the sentence because it was obvious she was about to be overcome with her own sobs. Here…in the police station. Surrounded by men. Turning Katie around and gently giving her a gentle shove in the direction of the interrogation room, Erin took control of the situation and commanded, "Come with me."

When Kelly moved to follow them, Erin turned around and put her hand on his chest as she shook her head. Their eyes met and locked as the detective silently pleaded with him to let her handle this. Kelly's every instinct was to protect his sister but he knew there were some things he could never do for her…things he would never understand. So with a sigh of frustration, he dropped into a nearby chair to wait.

"Nadia, will you get Lt. Severide some coffee?" Erin asked as she headed down the hall with Katie, "And make sure we have some privacy?"

The Intelligence squad's newest receptionist nodded silently, empathy in her expressive eyes, and hurried off to the break room to get some coffee. Erin and Katie headed off in the opposite direction with Erin stopping off to grab a couple of bottles of water before they reached their destination. Once inside the dark, little room, the detective pulled out a chair for her new friend and gently eased her into it. Taking a seat on the opposite side of the table, Erin opened her bottle of water and simply waited.

Finally, Katie whispered, "I'm sorry. It's just I'm so embarrassed."

Shaking her head, Erin assured her, "There's no reason to be."

"I was drinking that night, that's why I was walking home instead of driving and…"

"Katie, listen to me," Erin said, reaching across the table and taking the girl's trembling hand into her steadier one, "This is not your fault. Not in any way."

"I know that it's not my fault," the young chef responded, "It's Kelly's new mantra. It was all about control and revenge, nothing else. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter why it happened. It happened. And nothing you can say is going to make any difference."

"I know," Erin agreed, "I can't begin to imagine what you're going through. But if you help us put Keeler behind bars, he won't be able to make anyone else feel the way you do right now."

"I can't testify…"

"Why?" the detective asked gently, "Tell me."

Katie suddenly became very interested in the markings on the interrogation room table and Erin let the minutes tick by before the younger Severide finally said, "I always thought that being afraid of the dark was for small children, until the darkness touched me. It changed me. And I can't get up in front of the world and tell everyone that I just laid there and let him do it? How I never even tried to fight back?"

"What Keeler did to you was horrible and…"

"I should have done something," Katie cried, wiping away the tears that were spilling down her cheeks.

"You did do something!" Erin told her vehemently, coming around to Katie's side of the table and crouching down so that the girl was forced to look at her, "You think if it happens to you that you'll either run away as fast as you can or fight for your life, but that isn't what happens."

Shaking her head stubbornly, Katie whispered, "You would have fought back…"

"You don't know that," Erin answered, "I don't know that. Vince Keeler is bigger and stronger than you, Katie…and he had a gun. You couldn't fight, you couldn't run. You froze in order to protect yourself. That is a normal, physical response. It's a survival instinct. And it worked, because you're here. And you're alive. But you are not on your own anymore…you've got all of us right beside you. So, now it's time to fight."

"What if we lose?"

"We won't lose," Erin assured her, "We've got the good guys on our side. And believe me when I tell you that your brother and all the guys he works with and the guys in my squad…well, they are the best guys I know."


	7. Chapter 7 - Revenge

_**Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I am so glad you are enjoying this story. I promised some fireworks in this chapter and I hope I delivered!**_

_**So this chapter was already half written as Chapter Six before I changed how I want some events in this story to play out and it was easy to get it all set for Chapter Seven instead. I hope you enjoy this quick update!**_

_**A/N - Clarke shows up in this chapter just because I always forget the name of the bald guy on the rescue squad! And because I liked Clarke!**_

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**Chapter Seven – Revenge**

_Firehouse 51, two days later…_

Anger radiated off of Detective Erin Lindsay in waves as she made her way through Firehouse 51's main truck bay. Her hazel eyes were crystal clear and the flame of her anger acted like a light through a prism…you could see each color and reason for her anger. Men who were three times her size could tell that she was in no mood for platitudes, no mood for anything but the truth, so they backed away and let her barrel on through.

"Kelly must've screwed up big time," Clarke chuckled as the detective stormed by.

"Severide?" Cruz asked in surprise, looking appreciatively at Erin's retreating backside, "Severide's got a thing with the Homicide Hottie?"

"Are you the last to know everything around here?" Clarke chided with a knowing grin, going back to reading his newspaper. But he made sure to keep an ear out for the fireworks that looked like they were going to follow.

Erin pushed open the door to the lounge and ignored the confused stares from the firefighters and paramedics milling around. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on her target. As she purposefully made her way across the room, the heels of her boots clicking on the cool polished tile of the floors, everyone heard Lt. Hermann's cat call of, "Hey! Homicide Barbie's back."

"It's Intelligence Barbie, asshole," she shot back, never taking her eyes off Kelly. Ignoring the chuckles from his fellow firefighters, Erin came to a stop in front of Severide and demanded, "Your office. Now."

"Hey Erin," Kelly greeted her, feigning innocence and barely managing to look up from his lunch, "Good to see you again. I'm in the middle of my lunch break right now, so whatever it is you have to say can be said right here. I don't want my food to get cold. Mills makes a mean chili and…"

"You find him or I will?" Erin cut in, refusing to rise to the bait of his stall tactic. He knew exactly why she was there and it wasn't to play one of his little games. Placing her palms on the table, she leaned in and hissed, "Still going with that?"

The detective was close enough to him so that she could hear his quick intake of breath as Kelly slowly put his fork down and locked eyes with her. Hearing his own words repeated back to him had affected him somehow, but he'd be damned before he let it show. His expression was unreadable as he asked, "Is there a reason you're here?"

"Do I need to put a tail on you, Kelly?"

"We shared a couple of kisses, Lindsay," he answered with a smirk, deciding to play it cool and aloof for the amusement of his co-workers, "I didn't think you'd go all possessive and…"

"My CI inside the Keeler organization says that there were a couple of guys nosing around Vince's place for the last two nights and harassing everyone in sight," Erin interrupted, finally getting to the point of her visit, "Do you not remember how this thing started?"

Firefighter Brian "Otis" Zvonecek was suddenly standing next to them saying, "This _thing_ started because Vince Keeler tried to attack our house and then took his revenge out on Katie. Or did you conveniently forget the facts as soon as you let Keeler walk?"

"Who are you?" Erin asked shortly, finally tearing her eyes away from Kelly.

"Otis and Katie are…"

"…seeing each other," Otis finished, clenching his fists at his sides.

"I didn't let Keeler walk, Otis," the beautiful brunette explained to him in an even tone that was in stark contrast to the fire flashing in her eyes. "But I am working on getting him back behind bars as fast as I can. And I need the two of you…and whoever else…to stay out of it."

"Who says that we're not?" Kelly asked, finally standing up and facing Erin.

"My CI described a car that sounds a lot like yours speeding away from the Keeler house last night," Erin replied, not backing down an inch. "Want to explain that?"

"There's a lot of cars that look like mine in this city," Kelly answered with a shrug. He knew she wasn't going to back down from this fight, especially when she had instigated it. It was one of the things he liked best about her. One of many things.

"That's what you're going to go with?" the detective asked, searching his face for some kind of deception. Drawing in a deep breath and trying to calm herself down, Erin's gaze swept over Kelly, Otis and some of the other firefighters watching the scene very closely. Pursing her lips, she added quietly, "I know you are upset about what happened to Katie and the deal Keeler made with the D.A., but you need to back off with the intimidation tactics and let the police handle it. Whatever you have planned, drop it."

"We've got nothing planned…"

"Why the hell should we listen to you, huh?" Otis interrupted Kelly's protest hotly, "You had Keeler in lock up and let him go."

"She didn't let him go, Otis…"

But Erin didn't need Kelly to stand up for her. Realizing the young firefighter's emotions were getting the better of him, she very calmly explained, "My unit and I are doing everything we can to get Vince Keeler off the streets…"

"Your unit? Don't you mean Voight's unit? Well I'm sorry if that doesn't inspire a whole lot of faith in the guys around here," Otis interrupted and didn't wait for Erin to answer before he turned to Kelly and hissed, "I don't care if you're sleeping with her or not, she don't know what it's like for us. She's a true believer, man…she's put her faith in the system even though we know it doesn't always work in our favor."

"Otis…"

Chief Boden, who had silently entered the lounge at some point behind Erin, was standing with his back against the wall, arms folded over his chest, and the stern warning tone in his voice clearly demanded that Otis cool off. The detective was grateful for his back up, but it was completely unnecessary.

"He's fine," Erin said quietly to the room, nodding at the chief. Looking back at Otis and Kelly, she informed them, "You're right, I do believe in the system. But I didn't always. For what it's worth, I should have been a statistic…criminal father, druggie mother, living on the streets. Until the day I was arrested by Hank Voight and my life changed forever. So yeah, I do know what it's like to feel as if nobody knows what you're going through. And I also know what it's like to have a need for justice that burns to the very core of you. I know that trusting in the system is the last thing you want to do because you've been burned by it so many times before. But I am living proof that every once in awhile, when you've got the right the people on your side, everything works out the way it should."

Whatever oxygen had been in the room was sucked out the moment those words left Erin's lips. Lowering her voice and moving closer, she continued, "I get it. I do. I was there that night and I saw what that son of a bitch did to Katie. But as bad as things are for her right now, do you really think they're going to get any better if her brother and her boyfriend get brought up on assault charges? Or worse? She needs you at your best right now and I know you don't want to let her down. So trust me when I tell you…Katie's got the right people on her side. But you have to let us do what we do best."

The silence was deafening as Otis looked down at the floor and let her words sink in, but Kelly couldn't take his eyes off Erin. The tension between them crackled and everyone in the room felt it. He watched the beautiful brunette's movements very carefully as she took another step closer to him and raised herself up until they were on even ground. He felt her warm breath on his cheek, her lips brushing his skin ever so slightly as she spoke, sending massive chills down his spine as she whispered huskily, "You knew I was a cop when you knocked on my door. And I swear to you, Kelly, if I get even the smallest whiff of revenge I'll lock your ass up and throw away the key."

And with those words, she turned and walked out.

The woman knew how to make an exit.

But Kelly was not about to let her have the last word.

He let her get all the way out to the sidewalk before he caught up with her. The handsome firefighter caught her by the arm, halting her hasty exit and swiveled her around to face him, her eyes gleaming dark and dangerous, daring him to do something bold. Seeing her like that, Kelly wasn't sure if he was angry or aroused…or both…as he demanded, "What the hell was that, Erin? Did you really think you could just come storming in here and start accusing me and my guys of…what exactly?"

"I am protecting you," she shot back hotly, her warm breath and a rush of cold Chicago air hitting his face at the same time.

"From what?"

"From yourselves," Erin answered, wrenching her arm free from his grasp, "From doing something that can't be undone. I've been doing this a long time…long enough to know what I saw in your eyes that night at the hospital. What I just saw in Otis' eyes." Taking a deep breath and reigning in her anger, she continued, "I've seen all kinds of people with vendettas, Severide. Good people who let their anger turn them into the worst version of themselves. I've seen people lose their lives to those vendettas." She swallowed hard and then admitted, "People that matter. And I don't want to see it happen to you."

"You really believe I'm capable of that?" he demanded angrily.

"I don't know what to believe."

Her quiet confession hit him in the heart, breaking through the shell of anger and pain that he had built up there. Even in her anger, she was being honest with him. So it was time for him to do the same. Taking a step closer and locking his gaze with hers, he asked, "What else can you see when you look into people's eyes, detective? Can you tell if someone's guilty?"

"I can," she admitted, swallowing hard.

"Yeah, well look in mine," he shouted, bringing his calloused hand up to grasp her chin and hold it in place so she couldn't look away, "Ask me. Ask me!"

The ice in his voice just served to piss her off more because she knew he wasn't holding back. He was laying it all out there on the table, so she did the same as she asked coldly, "Would you kill for your sister?"

He didn't answer and they simply stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. To steady herself, she finally touched a fingertip to his chest, where she found his heart beating just as rapidly as her own. As though magnetized, she swayed closer, all the while captured by that challenge in his eyes. Masculine, spicy, his scent teased her nostrils. She flickered a glance at his mouth, barely inches away now. She closed her eyes, swallowed, took a deep breath. Flattening her palm against his chest, she pushed herself away.

But Kelly wasn't about to let her go.

His lips were on hers before she had any time to comprehend what was happening. Hot, breathless, almost desperate. Her initial reaction was to push him away and to tell him this was a horrible idea, but when he angled his head in and moved his lips with just the right amount of pressure, all logic was gone in a flash.

It was an angry kiss, and because of that it was so hot and intense it stole Erin's breath and her ability to stand on her own two feet. She felt Kelly's sorrow, his uncertainty. It rolled off him in waves. His despair and grief. His regret. He kissed her and let all his guilt and sadness and fury spill from his mouth to hers. There was so much emotion churning inside him that it was tangible and thick in the air. He touched her, frantically, as if his need for her was the most important single thing in the world.

Like she was the single most important thing in his world.

And then his touch became gentler, became more beseeching, almost as if he was begging her not to deny him. To touch him back. To offer him the comfort he seemed to crave. She was unable to remain cold and distant when he was crumbling before her. She kissed him back, her breath hiccupping softly over his lips. And then she slid her palm across the slight bristle of his jaw, cupping his cheek in a simple gesture of acceptance and understanding.

When she kissed him it was almost an apology. Their kiss was long and desperate and angry and yet full of tenderness, and they pulled away gasping for air, tears in their eyes and lumps in their throats, as if it weren't hard enough to breathe already.

He pressed his forehead to hers but didn't open his eyes, taking in deep breaths as they both tried to settle the emotions between them. Finally Erin reached up to touch his face and whispered, "Promise me, Kelly. Promise me you won't go after Keeler."

He finally opened his eyes and stared into her hazel ones. Erin could clearly see the storm of indecision raging behind his darkening baby blues. She knew what she was asking of him and so did he. Finally, he sighed and kissed her again and the sweet kiss continued a moment longer before it slowly came to an end. Against her lips, he whispered, "I promise."


End file.
